If you’re looking for a taste of NOLA with your brews, stop by Modern Brewery on Friday nights through mid-September. You’ll find chef Chuck Hess dishing up Cajun and Creole favorites from his food truck, The French Quarter. Then, in late September, he’s taking his show on the road.
Hess is previewing a limited menu of five or six dishes per week at Modern. He sets up around 4 p.m. and serves until he sells out. (To get the best selection, arrive early.) He stirs up a mean gumbo loaded with pulled pork and chicken in his signature roux, which is dark, smoky, and smooth. Complex flavors carry the dish.
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We sampled savory hand pies stuffed with Cajun beef and tasso and one with Italian sausage, basil, and Parmesan wrapped in a browned puff pastry crust. On the second Friday we visited, Hess showed his sweet side with a lush dessert roll of ripe peaches with bourbon and maple cream in a puff pastry crust.
“The hand pies usually sell out quick,” says Beamer Eisele, co-owner of Modern Brewery. “Chuck and I have known each other since we were 5 years old. His food goes great with our beers.”
We liked Modern’s pilsner, Miss Sally, with the crawfish-and-shrimp etouffee that Hess served on the third Friday we visited. Sweet crawfish, tender shrimp, and rice in a tasty blonde roux, topped with green onions, couldn’t have been tastier.
That same night, Hess unleashed his first po’ boy, a behemoth of a sandwich on a soft French bread with house-made tasso, andouille sausage, and smoked pork tenderloin. He dressed it with a bright remoulade mayo and chopped lettuce. Be prepared to share this one or take home half. It’s big—just like the others tastes coming from The French Quarter food truck.
The French Quarter Food Truck
Modern Brewery, 5231 Manchester
Fridays, 4 p.m.–sold out
